By: James Slider
To be a sentient being is to be subject to endless causes and conditions that shape your life, an infinitely complex entanglement that we call reality. The reality we experience is shaped by our interaction with things and other beings, phenomena that we observe and act upon. Being a part of this entanglement means two things: First, it means that we subjectively create the world we experience by acting as an observer of reality. Second, it means that we ourselves are objects of other's observation and in that way we are created by the same entanglement that we help to construct. In short, we are both the shaper and the shaped of reality.
Human beings are the inherent subject of a multitude of states and events including birth, death, suffering, and change. To observe and interact with an object (sentient or not) is to submit yourself to suffering, because inevitably that thing will leave, change, or die. The alternative to this cycle being a total detachment from reality, which would invariably lead to more suffering than the first option.
However, this suffering can be alleviated through our interactions, encounters facilitated by the same entanglement that subjects us to suffering in the first place. The sick can be healed, hatred fades away, the process of death is supplemented by life, and a number of other examples. Despite the many causes and conditions associated with suffering, there are just as many remedies to this state, if only human beings are willing to act as the agents who choose to apply these remedies.
The assertion i wish to make here is that to be a participant in reality is to commit yourself to the alleviation of suffering. To make an effort to stop the pain that others feel, that you feel, that you would inflict on others by acting carelessly. Mindfulness is of extreme importance in this case, because freedom from suffering comes not from some escape to an otherworldly paradise, but from accepting current circumstances, and choosing to live compassionately and with hope. Choosing not to act is to live complacently with suffering, to perpetuate the same things that plague all of mankind.
Any truth worthy of articulation is too important to betray. - Jay Garfield
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Confessions of a Hipster
By: Kris Harrison
I am a hipster. I said it, and it may make me more of a hipster for admitting it. I've kicked and screamed trying to run around the fact. It sickens me to see such fashionable and trendy folks with the same values and tastes as I do. I've searched for some subgroup of people who share the same passions as I do and then bitch when I find it. We're all looking for something real while trying to hold on to some "working-class" credibility. We see behind all of the shit sold to us, the images, lifestyles, and expectations placed on us. Made to feel guilty for not reaching some standard we never agreed to. A large number of people like me reached the same conclusions, adopted the same values, and dealt with theses issues in the same way. We value frugality, desperately seek authenticity, want to rebel, are angry, educated, and seeking individualism. However, much like anything else in an industrialized society, individuality becomes mass produced. Just like punk, new wave, emo, metal, and whatever other counterculture/music genre becomes attached with a fashion, lifestyle and set of values. Since this tendency towards trends has become a trend itself, Hipsterdom has evolved into a rejection of such. We seek out new way of expressing ourselves while falling into the same trends as before. A lot it has to do with big business getting a hold of the fashion and publicizing it, thus destroying it. American Eagle and Urban Outfitters have both taken the fashion and values of Hipsters and sold it back to them as higher prices. You can buy "vintage" clothing and furniture at upscale prices and find the items in high class malls and shopping centers. Like Grunge and Punk, once the mainstream gets a hold of counterculture, it becomes itself unhip and destroys any authenticity left.
This is also in part due to the large number of people drawn into the trend. What was once an inside joke or shared interest with your group of friends (such as strange catch phrases and grandpa sweaters) later becomes adopted by a number of onlookers hoping to capture the creativity and originality of your creation, often making the irony of their appreciation twice as ironic and thus making it lame. This is later picked up by large marketing firms and the fashion industry, tweaked, placed on better looking people and sold all around the world. What was once your way of standing out turns out to be your greatest insecurity. You find a number of shallow, small minded fucks wearing your cloths and speaking your lingo, making you a poser in their eyes and resulting in insurmountable amounts of anger. The key to the problem here is not the fashion, nor the ideals behind them, but the scale on which they're acquired and means of marketing. What was authentic is made to be superficial, leaving the true individuals and creators seeking another way of expressing themselves.
Such phenomena occurs in any trend. Punk started as a way to stick it to the man, with strong, practical ideas, firm individualism, and fantastic music. Later it was commodified and sold as cheap, spiky haired pussy shit making the real originators look "uncool" or outdated. The same happened with Grunge (the Melvins probably look old and worn out to Nirvana and Alice in Chains fans) and will continue to happen. There becomes so much irony, so much hipness that all that was good and pure is wiped away in the name of profit margins and trendiness. That hot girl and asshole guy in Math class become trendy fucks, sporting Black Flag t-shirts and $50 would-be-thrift-shop-jeans. You, the guy or girl that hated them with all your might, must now change your style or face the horror of looking like these fake motherfuckers. Sure, you can stand strong and hold on to your sense of identity, fashion, and attitudes. Though, you will face much criticism during and after the trend. Trends kill authenticity and those who strive towards it.
You may at this point be thinking "Kris, it's only fashion, true originality is in the mind!" I wholeheartedly agree. This is what should matter most. Fashion is only an outward representation of one's beliefs, and often falls short of expressing what one really feels. They are, of course, mass produced items and are bound to end up on someone else somewhere. True individuality is in the mind. However, this is dull at time. We have to wear something, why not have fun with it, right? There is no harm in this, until it is copied and made a joke of. Then it is no longer fun and one becomes defensive. "I really DO like Judas Priest! This guy is wearing the shirt to make a joke of a very talented group of musicians, and the passion they have!" This is where it starts, and the anger only grows. It is stupid, I admit it. It should be shrugged off, but goddammit you have to believe in something! You can't just fold every time someone steps on your shoes! If you are of the creative persuasion, you know how hard it is NOT to express yourself. NOT to write things down, print them on some blog and let the world have at it. The same goes with fashion and lifestyle. It's an expression of your life.
It hurts most when your situation and lot in life is made a joke of. Hipsters are mostly, like myself, from a well off background, well educated (that is, go to college), appreciate an array of music, are liberally slanted, and creative in some way. This is just how we turned out, a whole lot of us. So many people sneer, and deny, and get furious over who or what they are. Who cares!? So you're ironic, great! Irony is hilarious. Well off in life? Fantastic! You have more power to make changes. Appreciate fine art, jazz, indie music, strange pop culture, cult movies, cheap clothing and beer, and enjoying life? What is so bad about this? Hipsterdom is a fight against pompousness, but becomes pompous by its own efforts. We don't want the ivory towers, the slick look, nice car, and fine wine. We're cheap, reckless and fucking witty. We're lost, angry and searching for something to ground us-just like everyone else.
I've hated on hipsterdom for so long and I'm tired of ignoring the blunt truth. I am a hipster, I am just like the other pissed off, lost youth of my generation. We don't share the same values as our parents, we don't know what's real and what's a joke. I don't know who to believe, what to believe in, or who to trust. It's a post-post modern world of ironic irony of irony. Of ads trying to sell us products by not trying to sell them. It's a world where revolution and rebellion are dead, and the machine has become too big to fight other than making everything an ironic joke. We're sold rebellion, manufactured rebellion, to make us feel like we're making a difference. The best efforts we had, to live cheap, be frugal, and try alternatives has become a trendy joke of itself. It's still real, and still an option, folks.
We have everything mankind has to offer and still feel empty and pissed off. We have a million problems on our hands and can't seem to find a solid solution for one. We can't even try to save our species without looking like a bunch of crazy liberals. We're trying to hang on to some middle class fairy tale, making our humility noble, while hiding our true emotions and ideas. Instead of taking hold of our new found identity, we shun it, trying to become proletariat supermen. Our heroes failed us, parents failed us (divorce, materialism, false hopes, existential crisis- you name it), and now we're expected to run shit.
I wrote this as a confession, spilling my guts all over the floor. If you think I'm lame, fuck you. Chances are if I'm friends with you, you're a hipster too and I have you in mind. It's time to move on, to find something new. We're rocketing through our youth denying it, getting lost in contradictions and confusion. So fuck it. Time to start over.
I am a hipster. I said it, and it may make me more of a hipster for admitting it. I've kicked and screamed trying to run around the fact. It sickens me to see such fashionable and trendy folks with the same values and tastes as I do. I've searched for some subgroup of people who share the same passions as I do and then bitch when I find it. We're all looking for something real while trying to hold on to some "working-class" credibility. We see behind all of the shit sold to us, the images, lifestyles, and expectations placed on us. Made to feel guilty for not reaching some standard we never agreed to. A large number of people like me reached the same conclusions, adopted the same values, and dealt with theses issues in the same way. We value frugality, desperately seek authenticity, want to rebel, are angry, educated, and seeking individualism. However, much like anything else in an industrialized society, individuality becomes mass produced. Just like punk, new wave, emo, metal, and whatever other counterculture/music genre becomes attached with a fashion, lifestyle and set of values. Since this tendency towards trends has become a trend itself, Hipsterdom has evolved into a rejection of such. We seek out new way of expressing ourselves while falling into the same trends as before. A lot it has to do with big business getting a hold of the fashion and publicizing it, thus destroying it. American Eagle and Urban Outfitters have both taken the fashion and values of Hipsters and sold it back to them as higher prices. You can buy "vintage" clothing and furniture at upscale prices and find the items in high class malls and shopping centers. Like Grunge and Punk, once the mainstream gets a hold of counterculture, it becomes itself unhip and destroys any authenticity left.
This is also in part due to the large number of people drawn into the trend. What was once an inside joke or shared interest with your group of friends (such as strange catch phrases and grandpa sweaters) later becomes adopted by a number of onlookers hoping to capture the creativity and originality of your creation, often making the irony of their appreciation twice as ironic and thus making it lame. This is later picked up by large marketing firms and the fashion industry, tweaked, placed on better looking people and sold all around the world. What was once your way of standing out turns out to be your greatest insecurity. You find a number of shallow, small minded fucks wearing your cloths and speaking your lingo, making you a poser in their eyes and resulting in insurmountable amounts of anger. The key to the problem here is not the fashion, nor the ideals behind them, but the scale on which they're acquired and means of marketing. What was authentic is made to be superficial, leaving the true individuals and creators seeking another way of expressing themselves.
Such phenomena occurs in any trend. Punk started as a way to stick it to the man, with strong, practical ideas, firm individualism, and fantastic music. Later it was commodified and sold as cheap, spiky haired pussy shit making the real originators look "uncool" or outdated. The same happened with Grunge (the Melvins probably look old and worn out to Nirvana and Alice in Chains fans) and will continue to happen. There becomes so much irony, so much hipness that all that was good and pure is wiped away in the name of profit margins and trendiness. That hot girl and asshole guy in Math class become trendy fucks, sporting Black Flag t-shirts and $50 would-be-thrift-shop-jeans. You, the guy or girl that hated them with all your might, must now change your style or face the horror of looking like these fake motherfuckers. Sure, you can stand strong and hold on to your sense of identity, fashion, and attitudes. Though, you will face much criticism during and after the trend. Trends kill authenticity and those who strive towards it.
You may at this point be thinking "Kris, it's only fashion, true originality is in the mind!" I wholeheartedly agree. This is what should matter most. Fashion is only an outward representation of one's beliefs, and often falls short of expressing what one really feels. They are, of course, mass produced items and are bound to end up on someone else somewhere. True individuality is in the mind. However, this is dull at time. We have to wear something, why not have fun with it, right? There is no harm in this, until it is copied and made a joke of. Then it is no longer fun and one becomes defensive. "I really DO like Judas Priest! This guy is wearing the shirt to make a joke of a very talented group of musicians, and the passion they have!" This is where it starts, and the anger only grows. It is stupid, I admit it. It should be shrugged off, but goddammit you have to believe in something! You can't just fold every time someone steps on your shoes! If you are of the creative persuasion, you know how hard it is NOT to express yourself. NOT to write things down, print them on some blog and let the world have at it. The same goes with fashion and lifestyle. It's an expression of your life.
It hurts most when your situation and lot in life is made a joke of. Hipsters are mostly, like myself, from a well off background, well educated (that is, go to college), appreciate an array of music, are liberally slanted, and creative in some way. This is just how we turned out, a whole lot of us. So many people sneer, and deny, and get furious over who or what they are. Who cares!? So you're ironic, great! Irony is hilarious. Well off in life? Fantastic! You have more power to make changes. Appreciate fine art, jazz, indie music, strange pop culture, cult movies, cheap clothing and beer, and enjoying life? What is so bad about this? Hipsterdom is a fight against pompousness, but becomes pompous by its own efforts. We don't want the ivory towers, the slick look, nice car, and fine wine. We're cheap, reckless and fucking witty. We're lost, angry and searching for something to ground us-just like everyone else.
I've hated on hipsterdom for so long and I'm tired of ignoring the blunt truth. I am a hipster, I am just like the other pissed off, lost youth of my generation. We don't share the same values as our parents, we don't know what's real and what's a joke. I don't know who to believe, what to believe in, or who to trust. It's a post-post modern world of ironic irony of irony. Of ads trying to sell us products by not trying to sell them. It's a world where revolution and rebellion are dead, and the machine has become too big to fight other than making everything an ironic joke. We're sold rebellion, manufactured rebellion, to make us feel like we're making a difference. The best efforts we had, to live cheap, be frugal, and try alternatives has become a trendy joke of itself. It's still real, and still an option, folks.
We have everything mankind has to offer and still feel empty and pissed off. We have a million problems on our hands and can't seem to find a solid solution for one. We can't even try to save our species without looking like a bunch of crazy liberals. We're trying to hang on to some middle class fairy tale, making our humility noble, while hiding our true emotions and ideas. Instead of taking hold of our new found identity, we shun it, trying to become proletariat supermen. Our heroes failed us, parents failed us (divorce, materialism, false hopes, existential crisis- you name it), and now we're expected to run shit.
I wrote this as a confession, spilling my guts all over the floor. If you think I'm lame, fuck you. Chances are if I'm friends with you, you're a hipster too and I have you in mind. It's time to move on, to find something new. We're rocketing through our youth denying it, getting lost in contradictions and confusion. So fuck it. Time to start over.
Monday, December 14, 2009
A Note on Nature
By: James Slider
I've been reading the Practice of the Wild by Gary Snyder and that book has definitely influenced my thinking in regards to nature and what we hold to be natural or wild. By Snyder's definition:
Natural - Anything that exists on earth
Wilderness - Something allowed to grow to its full potential
Wild - The fundamental essence of our relationship with all other things on earth
These concepts led me to thinking about alot of other things and the way we view ourselves as humans.
The concept that we are seperate and different from nature is a huge part of the mindset of a "civilized human." I also think that this concept is a mistake. We are innately wild, and one of our largest flaws is to think that concrete ground and brick buildings seperate us from every other creature that eats and is in turn eaten. We identify with material objects, our houses, our cars, our clothes because they seperate us from what we view as untamed and unorganized nature. We pave over grass and cut down trees to "organize things," essentially we do it to feel that we are in control.
The flaw in this concept is that raw nature is structured upon an organizational pattern that is complex beyond our comprehension, a system of checks and balances that innately maintains itself until we come in and shatter its equillibrium. In this way, the ignorance of the human race leads it to destroying or "civilizing" the natural landscape and destroying a far more intricate and beautiful system than we could even dream of creating.
To accept the fact that our bodies are wild is almost like learning to walk again. We are wild in instinct, in each moment spent involuntarily frozen in the darkness after hearing a noise, in the way we size each other up unconciously, a spark in our minds that cant be put out. To accept this fact means relating yourself to all that we view as untame, in my view this is far from regression, it is closer to revolution. To be wild is not to be cruel or uncaring, it is to grow to the full of your potential, while accepting your place and relation to everything else on earth. The wild is to eat and be eaten, to take life in order to live your own, and to give life so that others may live, to see yourself in every other creature because you are all interdependant. Quite a thought.
If this thought intrigues you as much as it did me you should check out Snyders book, or talk to me about it sometime, im always happy to talk.
I've been reading the Practice of the Wild by Gary Snyder and that book has definitely influenced my thinking in regards to nature and what we hold to be natural or wild. By Snyder's definition:
Natural - Anything that exists on earth
Wilderness - Something allowed to grow to its full potential
Wild - The fundamental essence of our relationship with all other things on earth
These concepts led me to thinking about alot of other things and the way we view ourselves as humans.
The concept that we are seperate and different from nature is a huge part of the mindset of a "civilized human." I also think that this concept is a mistake. We are innately wild, and one of our largest flaws is to think that concrete ground and brick buildings seperate us from every other creature that eats and is in turn eaten. We identify with material objects, our houses, our cars, our clothes because they seperate us from what we view as untamed and unorganized nature. We pave over grass and cut down trees to "organize things," essentially we do it to feel that we are in control.
The flaw in this concept is that raw nature is structured upon an organizational pattern that is complex beyond our comprehension, a system of checks and balances that innately maintains itself until we come in and shatter its equillibrium. In this way, the ignorance of the human race leads it to destroying or "civilizing" the natural landscape and destroying a far more intricate and beautiful system than we could even dream of creating.
To accept the fact that our bodies are wild is almost like learning to walk again. We are wild in instinct, in each moment spent involuntarily frozen in the darkness after hearing a noise, in the way we size each other up unconciously, a spark in our minds that cant be put out. To accept this fact means relating yourself to all that we view as untame, in my view this is far from regression, it is closer to revolution. To be wild is not to be cruel or uncaring, it is to grow to the full of your potential, while accepting your place and relation to everything else on earth. The wild is to eat and be eaten, to take life in order to live your own, and to give life so that others may live, to see yourself in every other creature because you are all interdependant. Quite a thought.
If this thought intrigues you as much as it did me you should check out Snyders book, or talk to me about it sometime, im always happy to talk.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
The Adolescent Fight Club
By: Kris Harrison |Editor|
I just finished watching Fight Club, which I initially put on to make myself feel better about hating studying and the pointlessness of college on whole. It worked. However, this time I caught a glimpse of something I did not pick up on before. It is something I find very crucial to the film and its meaning. It was also prompted by a Facebook message I received quoting the movie. The quote was from a philosophy/personal friend of mine who usually zings me with one liners. Although it wasn't the one liner this time, it still zinged me in a most likely unintended way.
What it made me realize is that I disagreed with what Fight Club stands for. I appreciate the ideas, the meaninglessness of modern life and all that jazz. These are big topics with me. However, what Josh's comment made me realize was the adolescence of the film, and the ideas presented. Now, I must first say that I still love the movie and appreciate it on many other different levels. However, the most important level, which is its message, I do not. Also, I could be misled in my interpretation (in your opinion) but it is a work of art and is open to such, so bear with me. What struck me about the adolescence is its reflection on myself, and encounters I have had. My friend Ryan Clark wrote a song, and believes in the idea that revolution is dead. I agree. Revolution as it has existed for the extent of human history is of no value anymore. This applies to the revolution posed in the movie as well.
You may be say "aw hell Kris, it's just a film." Fuck that, it has a message and if you do not take it serious than I doubt you appreciate the movie with the depth it deserves. Furthermore, if you are one of those revolutionary types, I advise you to read the Unabomber's Manifesto, he articulates why in better detail as well as proves its defaults. Anyways, back to the film. What I am disgusted by is this idea of revolution as a collectivist, gun shooting, explosive, anarchistic event. This is how it has always occurred, and though it may prove effective in some way (blowing shit up still changes things) I do not feel it would have the psychological effect it used to. Blowing up credit card unions wouldn't do anything to further mankind. Not buying things with them on a mass scale would. It is easy to demonize wild eyed revolutionaries. Look at Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber. The man was a genius who saw humanity heading down a bad path, used force to get his message across and now everyone believes he is a nut. The same would happen to Tyler Durden, regardless of how rational his ideas may seem. Look what they're doing to Tiger Woods for god's sake. The guy got in a car accident late at night, and now everyone's freaking out like he's some loony.
Yes, the tenants of the movie are adolescent. They appear to be awesome in theory, and of course work out in a movie. However, the real revolution would not happen. Yes, there are a great deal of males (and females) disenfranchised with the current state of affairs. Yes, fighting may be a productive form of psychotherapy rather than copious consumption and some fucked up identity therein. However, I emphasize the "may." There is a better way of approaching the clear meaninglessness. It's a lot simpler, and doesn't involve explosions, so people will not latch onto it as well as Fight Club (which by the way, white collar boxing does exist). The solution is in the methods of revolution, and attacks the heart of what the current system is founded on. What I mean is money. The consumer has power as such, what they buy determines what businesses and power exists. Hate Starbucks and Wal-Mart? Stop shopping there. Feel like products aren't doing anything to make you happy? Stop buying them. Feel like a part of you is missing, figure out what it is.
I'm simplifying, of course, but the solution is simple in theory. In practice on a large scale I believe it's impossible. Even the strongest of will splurges now and then. Multiply that by the population of the country and Wal-Mart is still doing fine. However, I find this to be the shape of revolution to come. It is a form of slave rebellion, but it makes more sense than blowing shit up. Just stop buying from places you don't agree with. Cancel your credit cards. "Oh, but things are so expensive! We need Wal-Mart and Meijer for their deals!" Shop Sav-A-Lot and Good Will. They're cheaper and the profits go to the perpetuation of humanity. There are alternatives. I know because I do them. Yes, I could be doing more, and I should be. I'm not asking for all or nothing, just something more sensible for all out chaos. We already live in that, but most people aren't equipped for digesting it.
Look, I don't mean to be preachy, and I know I am coming off like that. My point is, don't let the fantasy get you. It got me, and my glimmering eyes did nothing but shine. Fight Club is a great film, and exposes a lot of stuff going on that people don't often discuss. However, the solution is weak. If you disagree, than fuck it, let's make some soap.
I just finished watching Fight Club, which I initially put on to make myself feel better about hating studying and the pointlessness of college on whole. It worked. However, this time I caught a glimpse of something I did not pick up on before. It is something I find very crucial to the film and its meaning. It was also prompted by a Facebook message I received quoting the movie. The quote was from a philosophy/personal friend of mine who usually zings me with one liners. Although it wasn't the one liner this time, it still zinged me in a most likely unintended way.
What it made me realize is that I disagreed with what Fight Club stands for. I appreciate the ideas, the meaninglessness of modern life and all that jazz. These are big topics with me. However, what Josh's comment made me realize was the adolescence of the film, and the ideas presented. Now, I must first say that I still love the movie and appreciate it on many other different levels. However, the most important level, which is its message, I do not. Also, I could be misled in my interpretation (in your opinion) but it is a work of art and is open to such, so bear with me. What struck me about the adolescence is its reflection on myself, and encounters I have had. My friend Ryan Clark wrote a song, and believes in the idea that revolution is dead. I agree. Revolution as it has existed for the extent of human history is of no value anymore. This applies to the revolution posed in the movie as well.
You may be say "aw hell Kris, it's just a film." Fuck that, it has a message and if you do not take it serious than I doubt you appreciate the movie with the depth it deserves. Furthermore, if you are one of those revolutionary types, I advise you to read the Unabomber's Manifesto, he articulates why in better detail as well as proves its defaults. Anyways, back to the film. What I am disgusted by is this idea of revolution as a collectivist, gun shooting, explosive, anarchistic event. This is how it has always occurred, and though it may prove effective in some way (blowing shit up still changes things) I do not feel it would have the psychological effect it used to. Blowing up credit card unions wouldn't do anything to further mankind. Not buying things with them on a mass scale would. It is easy to demonize wild eyed revolutionaries. Look at Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber. The man was a genius who saw humanity heading down a bad path, used force to get his message across and now everyone believes he is a nut. The same would happen to Tyler Durden, regardless of how rational his ideas may seem. Look what they're doing to Tiger Woods for god's sake. The guy got in a car accident late at night, and now everyone's freaking out like he's some loony.
Yes, the tenants of the movie are adolescent. They appear to be awesome in theory, and of course work out in a movie. However, the real revolution would not happen. Yes, there are a great deal of males (and females) disenfranchised with the current state of affairs. Yes, fighting may be a productive form of psychotherapy rather than copious consumption and some fucked up identity therein. However, I emphasize the "may." There is a better way of approaching the clear meaninglessness. It's a lot simpler, and doesn't involve explosions, so people will not latch onto it as well as Fight Club (which by the way, white collar boxing does exist). The solution is in the methods of revolution, and attacks the heart of what the current system is founded on. What I mean is money. The consumer has power as such, what they buy determines what businesses and power exists. Hate Starbucks and Wal-Mart? Stop shopping there. Feel like products aren't doing anything to make you happy? Stop buying them. Feel like a part of you is missing, figure out what it is.
I'm simplifying, of course, but the solution is simple in theory. In practice on a large scale I believe it's impossible. Even the strongest of will splurges now and then. Multiply that by the population of the country and Wal-Mart is still doing fine. However, I find this to be the shape of revolution to come. It is a form of slave rebellion, but it makes more sense than blowing shit up. Just stop buying from places you don't agree with. Cancel your credit cards. "Oh, but things are so expensive! We need Wal-Mart and Meijer for their deals!" Shop Sav-A-Lot and Good Will. They're cheaper and the profits go to the perpetuation of humanity. There are alternatives. I know because I do them. Yes, I could be doing more, and I should be. I'm not asking for all or nothing, just something more sensible for all out chaos. We already live in that, but most people aren't equipped for digesting it.
Look, I don't mean to be preachy, and I know I am coming off like that. My point is, don't let the fantasy get you. It got me, and my glimmering eyes did nothing but shine. Fight Club is a great film, and exposes a lot of stuff going on that people don't often discuss. However, the solution is weak. If you disagree, than fuck it, let's make some soap.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Final Cut Sutra
By: James Slider
This is just one of those notes where you notice something about life that you want to write about, so if you have a spare minute read it over, if not, don't.
I was walking home from class today, against a constant stream of people. Each had their ipods in, heads bowed down, dead to the world. It seems that each person here makes a constant effort to seal themselves off into a discrete social environment, apart from anything they find displeasing or are not force fed by a professor.
This observation led me to thinking about the way we life our lives. We constantly edit our own existence. Just as in a movie, we fade up on parts that we feel are important. These "destinations" in life are the only part we pay attention to. Each transition between these destinations, moments we feel we should be enjoying, is faded to black, or simply cut. We lay our eyes safely on the cracks of the sidewalk, turn our volume up to drown out the noise of the outside world, and forget what it means to be part of a whole.
Our essential mistake is that life is not just a series of destinations, connected from dot to dot and joined by the resulting lines of meaningless existence between arrivals. Reality is more like a river, a continuous flow of perceptions and sensations, recreated and interpreted in our thoughts. If we choose to edit out the time between each place we go, more importantly, if we choose to zone out for things we feel we shouldn't enjoy, we are losing a huge amount of the experience that is life. If you spend every day blanking out class, your job, the walk home, doing the dishes, and a myriad of other experiences, we are editing out an enormous portion of the time we have to exist.
This is an invitation to be present for your own life. To watch the extended version instead of the abridged. To live in sentences instead of syllables. Enjoy exactly where you are and what you are doing all the time, not just when you get somewhere you thought would be fun of you heard should be fun.
This is just one of those notes where you notice something about life that you want to write about, so if you have a spare minute read it over, if not, don't.
I was walking home from class today, against a constant stream of people. Each had their ipods in, heads bowed down, dead to the world. It seems that each person here makes a constant effort to seal themselves off into a discrete social environment, apart from anything they find displeasing or are not force fed by a professor.
This observation led me to thinking about the way we life our lives. We constantly edit our own existence. Just as in a movie, we fade up on parts that we feel are important. These "destinations" in life are the only part we pay attention to. Each transition between these destinations, moments we feel we should be enjoying, is faded to black, or simply cut. We lay our eyes safely on the cracks of the sidewalk, turn our volume up to drown out the noise of the outside world, and forget what it means to be part of a whole.
Our essential mistake is that life is not just a series of destinations, connected from dot to dot and joined by the resulting lines of meaningless existence between arrivals. Reality is more like a river, a continuous flow of perceptions and sensations, recreated and interpreted in our thoughts. If we choose to edit out the time between each place we go, more importantly, if we choose to zone out for things we feel we shouldn't enjoy, we are losing a huge amount of the experience that is life. If you spend every day blanking out class, your job, the walk home, doing the dishes, and a myriad of other experiences, we are editing out an enormous portion of the time we have to exist.
This is an invitation to be present for your own life. To watch the extended version instead of the abridged. To live in sentences instead of syllables. Enjoy exactly where you are and what you are doing all the time, not just when you get somewhere you thought would be fun of you heard should be fun.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Hellbettys and Barfights: An Evening With Hank Williams III
By Willie Burmeister
My whole life, I’ve tended to shun country music as some hillbilly garbage that just isn’t worth listening to. At this point I still haven’t put a whole lot of time in to listening to country, but I have given a fair chance to a select few artists. What I’ve found is that country music is just like any other kind: When the artist makes honest music it can be incredible, and when the artist tries to sell tons of records and be played on the radio it generally turns into trash. Just like most genres, the stuff that we’re bombarded with the most isn’t worth a listen. However, with some searching it is possible to find some real music where the artist has something to say and totally nails their message.
This weekend Hank Williams III and Assjack played at Saint Andrews Hall. I was initially fascinated by the crowd that shows up to see these guys. The first half of the show is country music, and the second half is thrash metal.
The result of this is that part of the audience are hillbillies, part are metalheads, and most are some mutant combination of the two. What everyone had in common was the desire for a balls out show with nothing held back.
The show was absolutely incredible. I was in awe of just how musically talented every member of the band was; the lap steel, banjo, and violin players could really shred and they straight up stole the show. But what really made it a great performance was how perfectly pissed off the music was.
From the classic “Cocaine Blues” to “Dick in Dixie”, these guys were more rock and roll than rock and rollers. They were able to perfectly nail their message: Life is fucked up, let’s have some fun. They’re proud of their roots and they have every right to be. They represent all that is real and cool about southern hellraisers.
As far as metal bands go, there are better bands out there than Assjack. However, that doesn’t mean that they didn’t go out on that stage and kick ass. In this medium, the band was able to really let their anger out. They were intense and energetic, and they nailed a Slayer medley, which to me was the highlight of their portion of the show.
The point I want to make here is that even if you don’t think of yourself as a country music fan, you should treat yourself to checking out Hank III. There is nothing inherently wrong with country music. There is, however, something wrong with the artists who’ve sold their cocks and balls for fame. After this weekend’s show, I decided to listen to a little of the music that Hank’s grandfather wrote. What I found is that Hank Williams could really wail also, and if country music would have stayed on the path that he started (instead of tumbling downhill like popular music always tends to do) the genre would still be packed with artists that go out and break faces, honky tonk style. I think we can look at Hank III as yet another example of the fact that there will always be real musicians who want to make honest music for themselves and their fans.
Photos Courtesy of starpulse.com and culturebully.com
My whole life, I’ve tended to shun country music as some hillbilly garbage that just isn’t worth listening to. At this point I still haven’t put a whole lot of time in to listening to country, but I have given a fair chance to a select few artists. What I’ve found is that country music is just like any other kind: When the artist makes honest music it can be incredible, and when the artist tries to sell tons of records and be played on the radio it generally turns into trash. Just like most genres, the stuff that we’re bombarded with the most isn’t worth a listen. However, with some searching it is possible to find some real music where the artist has something to say and totally nails their message.
This weekend Hank Williams III and Assjack played at Saint Andrews Hall. I was initially fascinated by the crowd that shows up to see these guys. The first half of the show is country music, and the second half is thrash metal.
The result of this is that part of the audience are hillbillies, part are metalheads, and most are some mutant combination of the two. What everyone had in common was the desire for a balls out show with nothing held back.The show was absolutely incredible. I was in awe of just how musically talented every member of the band was; the lap steel, banjo, and violin players could really shred and they straight up stole the show. But what really made it a great performance was how perfectly pissed off the music was.
From the classic “Cocaine Blues” to “Dick in Dixie”, these guys were more rock and roll than rock and rollers. They were able to perfectly nail their message: Life is fucked up, let’s have some fun. They’re proud of their roots and they have every right to be. They represent all that is real and cool about southern hellraisers.As far as metal bands go, there are better bands out there than Assjack. However, that doesn’t mean that they didn’t go out on that stage and kick ass. In this medium, the band was able to really let their anger out. They were intense and energetic, and they nailed a Slayer medley, which to me was the highlight of their portion of the show.
The point I want to make here is that even if you don’t think of yourself as a country music fan, you should treat yourself to checking out Hank III. There is nothing inherently wrong with country music. There is, however, something wrong with the artists who’ve sold their cocks and balls for fame. After this weekend’s show, I decided to listen to a little of the music that Hank’s grandfather wrote. What I found is that Hank Williams could really wail also, and if country music would have stayed on the path that he started (instead of tumbling downhill like popular music always tends to do) the genre would still be packed with artists that go out and break faces, honky tonk style. I think we can look at Hank III as yet another example of the fact that there will always be real musicians who want to make honest music for themselves and their fans.
Photos Courtesy of starpulse.com and culturebully.com
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Megadeth Continue to Take No Prisoners, Nor Shit
By: Ryan Linska
Megadeth are back with another mind crushing thrash album titled Endgame, and all I can say is “holy shit”. Megadeth are one of those bands that never cease to impress with each release. This trend continues with Endgame. The album sucks you in with the opener "Dialectic Chaos”, pleasing you with the sounds of the shredding duo of none other than Megadeth front man Dave Mustaine and his new partner in crime Chris Broderick. This is Chris Broderick’s first appearance on a Megadeth album, and he does nothing but impress the entire way through…this guy can SHRED! He is easily one of the most talented guitar players on the thrash scene right now.
Throughout Endgame the guitar playing of Broderick and Mustaine is top notch, every note, every solo, nailed with the upmost perfection. Mustaine and Broderick trade off solos that feed off one another in a magical fashion hardly seen in newer releases nowadays, the chemistry is perfect. Supported by the strong rhythm section provided by James Lomenzo (drums) and Shawn Drover (bass) the thrash beast that is Megadeth continues to assault it’s listeners with ear-bleeding thrash metal.
The album is a pure thrash album from start to finish, from the aforementioned “Dialectic Chaos” to the single “Head Crusher” Megadeth unleashes a force which no-one can withstand. However, the album is not without its breathing space. On “The Hardest Part of Letting Go…Sealed With a Kiss” we get a chance to rest our necks from the full on head banging assault. The song itself lets the listener breath before the pummeling thrash assault begins again. Through and through there are few low points on this album; each song is as strong as the last, angry and pissed. My personal favorite tracks on this album were: Dialectic Chaos, Head Crusher, This Day We Fight, Endgame and 44 Minutes.
The song writing continues the previous thread we saw on “United Abominations” with a couple of the songs being very politically based, and one going far as attacking ex-President Bush directly in it’s lyrics (Endgame). However, it seems Mustaine has taken it easy on political songs and allowed some other influences in as well, such as on the song 1,320 which is about nitro fuel funny cars. Overall, Mustaine’s songwriting hasn’t lost its touch on this record in the least.
Now for the criticism, I overall enjoyed this album, but one thing that threw me off was the ballad…When I think Megadeth I do not think love ballad, the example of this being “The Hardest Part of Letting Go…Sealed With a Kiss”. Now I don’t know about anyone else’s opinion of a thrash record, but when I think thrash the word "ballad" does not even cross my mind. The ballad doesn’t bring down the album too much by any means, but could have been left out; it just doesn't fit. At least this time we didn’t have to hear a duet with the lead singer of Lacuna Coil…
Another small problem I have with this record is the abundance of politically based songs. Now I don’t mind political songs, but sometimes it becomes overkill. Unlike the last record “United Abominations” Mustaine has toned down on his politics, which is a step up. However, I feel like during these songs, instead of bringing issues of society to light, I hear bitching. Overall, not a huge problem but something I wouldn’t mind seeing removed from future albums.
Final judgment… Endgame is an amazing thrash record. It shows growth for Megadeth as a band, and paves the path for, hopefully, many more albums to come from. I award this album with a solid 9/10. I highly recommend this album for anyone who is a fan of Megadeth, metal, or heavier music in general.
Megadeth are back with another mind crushing thrash album titled Endgame, and all I can say is “holy shit”. Megadeth are one of those bands that never cease to impress with each release. This trend continues with Endgame. The album sucks you in with the opener "Dialectic Chaos”, pleasing you with the sounds of the shredding duo of none other than Megadeth front man Dave Mustaine and his new partner in crime Chris Broderick. This is Chris Broderick’s first appearance on a Megadeth album, and he does nothing but impress the entire way through…this guy can SHRED! He is easily one of the most talented guitar players on the thrash scene right now.
Throughout Endgame the guitar playing of Broderick and Mustaine is top notch, every note, every solo, nailed with the upmost perfection. Mustaine and Broderick trade off solos that feed off one another in a magical fashion hardly seen in newer releases nowadays, the chemistry is perfect. Supported by the strong rhythm section provided by James Lomenzo (drums) and Shawn Drover (bass) the thrash beast that is Megadeth continues to assault it’s listeners with ear-bleeding thrash metal.
The album is a pure thrash album from start to finish, from the aforementioned “Dialectic Chaos” to the single “Head Crusher” Megadeth unleashes a force which no-one can withstand. However, the album is not without its breathing space. On “The Hardest Part of Letting Go…Sealed With a Kiss” we get a chance to rest our necks from the full on head banging assault. The song itself lets the listener breath before the pummeling thrash assault begins again. Through and through there are few low points on this album; each song is as strong as the last, angry and pissed. My personal favorite tracks on this album were: Dialectic Chaos, Head Crusher, This Day We Fight, Endgame and 44 Minutes.
The song writing continues the previous thread we saw on “United Abominations” with a couple of the songs being very politically based, and one going far as attacking ex-President Bush directly in it’s lyrics (Endgame). However, it seems Mustaine has taken it easy on political songs and allowed some other influences in as well, such as on the song 1,320 which is about nitro fuel funny cars. Overall, Mustaine’s songwriting hasn’t lost its touch on this record in the least.
Now for the criticism, I overall enjoyed this album, but one thing that threw me off was the ballad…When I think Megadeth I do not think love ballad, the example of this being “The Hardest Part of Letting Go…Sealed With a Kiss”. Now I don’t know about anyone else’s opinion of a thrash record, but when I think thrash the word "ballad" does not even cross my mind. The ballad doesn’t bring down the album too much by any means, but could have been left out; it just doesn't fit. At least this time we didn’t have to hear a duet with the lead singer of Lacuna Coil…
Another small problem I have with this record is the abundance of politically based songs. Now I don’t mind political songs, but sometimes it becomes overkill. Unlike the last record “United Abominations” Mustaine has toned down on his politics, which is a step up. However, I feel like during these songs, instead of bringing issues of society to light, I hear bitching. Overall, not a huge problem but something I wouldn’t mind seeing removed from future albums.
Final judgment… Endgame is an amazing thrash record. It shows growth for Megadeth as a band, and paves the path for, hopefully, many more albums to come from. I award this album with a solid 9/10. I highly recommend this album for anyone who is a fan of Megadeth, metal, or heavier music in general.
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